Hacking the unconscious

We, humans, love to look at the faces. When it is a pretty face or a face of a baby we simply can not ignore it. Designers often use this to attract us on websites and advertisements.

Be careful, do not cannibalize attention on the page!

One of our studies, our client asked us to conduct a series of usability testing to improve engagement and conversion rates for their product page.

We found out many participants could not remember the offer, even though it was written in big fonts on the hero banner. They could not remember simply because they did not look. The model on the banner was so beautiful, most of the participants admired her -only!- before moving on the other pages.

Human beings have a natural tendency to follow the gaze of others, and we have been coached since birth to follow arrows directing us to where we should be looking/going.

It’s obvious that the woman’s face is drawing a lot of attention. As a matter of fact, faces of babies and pretty women draw the longest gazes from all visitors.

Unfortunately, from a marketing standpoint, this is a problem because the copy isn’t commanding enough attention.

Now, look at the second image of the woman facing the text was used.

Visuals are an important part of a site’s overall design, but most pages can be optimized by including images that serve as visual cues for where visitors should look next.